Machi Kuragi
- Past Design = }} |-| Anime = |kanji = 倉伎 真知 |romaji = Kuragi Machi |aka = Chi-chan (by Komaki) |gender = Female |age = 16-17 |height = |hair color = Dark Brown (Manga) Dark Grey (Anime) |eye color = Brown |year = |occupation = Student |affiliation = Kaibara Municipal High School Sohma Family |parents = Unnamed Father Unnamed Mother Unnamed Step-mother |siblings = Kakeru Manabe (Older half-brother) Unnamed Younger Brother |spouse = Yuki Sohma (Husband) |children = Mutsuki Sohma (Son) |extended family = Unnamed Father-in-law Unnamed Mother-in-law Ayame Sohma (Brother-in-law) Komaki Nakao (Sister-in-law) Michi Manabe (Niece) Kou Manabe (Nephew) |manga = Chapter 42 (Cameo) Chapter 49 |anime = Episode 25 (Cameo) |japanese = Ai Kakuma Yuki Kaida (Drama CD) |english = Caitlin Glass }} is one of the recurring characters of the Fruits Basket series. She is Kakeru Manabe's younger half-sister by their mutual father's wife. She serves as the treasurer of the student council during Yuki Sohma's presidency. Machi is depicted as a very quiet girl and has occasional destructive behavior, because she hates perfection due to her abusive childhood and being forced to act perfect. Unlike most girls at school, she does not see Yuki as a prince, but as just another boy, even seeing him as being lonely. Her different attitude and troubled behavior catch Yuki's eye, and he makes multiple attempts at befriending her. When Yuki acknowledges her and helps her break out of her shell, Machi develops feelings for him and later ends up dating him. In Fruits Basket Another, she is married to Yuki and the mother of Mutsuki Sohma, her son acting as one of the main characters. Appearance Machi is an average build and height teenage-girl with fair skin and brown eyes. She has straight, light-brown hair that goes right down to the middle of her back, with two locks of hair framing her face laid on her shoulders. Additionally, she occasionally ties a small piece of her hair into a ponytail at the back. She long, slightly messy bangs that cover her entire forehead. She is often depicted in the standard Kaibara High uniform with a knee-length skirt. Personality Machi was initially depicted as a very quiet, nearly emotionless girl. Machi is quite agreeable, as she often does what she is told to do. She talks very monotone and rarely speaks up for her own wishes. She also has great difficulty expressing herself, which sometimes results in her older brother Kakeru making decisions for her. She has little desire to put in any effort into meaningless disciplines or activities, and only does what she is required to do. For this reason, she is often dragged around by fellow student-council member Kimi Toudou and Kakeru.''Fruits Basket Manga'': Vol 9, Chapter 49 Machi has a high degree of anxiety and has an occasional destructive behavior, such as wrecking the student council room, breaking a new box of chalk, and walking around in circles dozens of times in clean, unblemished snow. She hates perfection of all forms, and often ends up destroying things that are considered too tidy. Her hatred of tidiness is also reflected by her apartment; as she never bothers to throw out the trashbags in her room or clean up her clothes. This destructive tendency came from her frustration at having to be completely perfect for her mother's sake, then being brushed aside and put down by the very person she worked so hard for.''Fruits Basket Manga'': Vol 16, Chapter 94''Fruits Basket Manga'': Vol 18, Chapter 102 Machi is a lone wolf who is rather isolated; friendships do not come easily to her. She is also very straightforward with her words and has little censor in what she says. Machi is incredibly perceptive, as she picks up on things that no one else does. She is also secretive, as there are things about her that she doesn’t want people to learn, and she rarely ever explains her actions to others. This makes her come across as mysterious and frightening to others.''Fruits Basket Manga'': Vol 15, Chapter 89 It is later revealed that Machi is very self-conscious of her personality and tries her best to change. Her difficulty stems from her past, as she has lost her own sense of identity. During her introduction, she is unsure of what she likes or what she dislikes, and even has trouble expressing her favorite color. She thinks that her existence is unnecessary in the world and that she isn't outstanding in any way. However, thanks to Yuki's influence, Machi breaks out of her shell and is slowly able to come into her own identity. She is later shown to be a very stubborn, outspoken girl with a "tsundere" personality. The only person she is violent with is her brother though, and in Yuki's presence, she can be quite flustered and rarely admits her true feelings. She once even chased Yuki all around the school just because she saw him and wanted to say hi.''Fruits Basket Manga'': Vol 17, Chapter 100 Despite all such things, however, Machi is a deeply kind, generous, and caring, albeit awkward, girl on the inside, as shown by her desire to help people whenever they are in trouble.''Fruits Basket Manga'': Vol 23, Chapter 135 History Machi was born to her father's legal wife, while Kakeru was the older child but born illegitimately to their father's former partner. Since their father is very wealthy, their mothers constantly argued over whose child would become the heir to the family fortune. Machi was forced into an inheritance rivalry against Kakeru by her mother since a young age, and thus didn't have time for anything else. Machi was always pressed by her mother to have a perfect personality and a perfect academic record, because she was convinced that her father would reject her otherwise. She would also be punished for anything short of perfection. Machi described these years as feeling like she was under siege and suffocating. Even so, she was desperate to live up to her mother's expectations, but even when she became "perfect", Machi never earned a pat on the back from her mother. The bitter inheritance rivalry ended when Kakeru and his mother withdrew from the competition, and when Machi's mother bore a son. Machi's mother was pleased to finally have a boy, whom she could name the heir. Additionally, she told her friend that she was disappointed in Machi, since she was very boring, didn't stand out, and that excelling in school couldn't save her plain personality. When Machi argued that she was simply trying to live up to her mother's expectations and always did what she asked of her, her mother was even further disappointed in Machi, deemed that she had raised Machi in the wrong way, and continued to treat her coldly. This made Machi completely lost, because she didn't know what to do besides being perfect and please her mother. One day, Machi saw her younger brother laying on the ground and, thinking that he might be cold, was covering him with a blanket. Her mother entered the room and convicted Machi of attempting to kill him, an accusation she did not contest even though it is false. Her parents, believing she resents her younger brother and is a danger to him, quickly threw her out of the house. Machi had no choice but to consent to this, and her parents claimed they did it for Machi, because they thought that it would be more "stress-free" and "better" for her to live apart from her family. She has since lived alone in an apartment. This left Machi heartbroken, leaving her to become quiet, removed from society, and despising anything she considered "perfect." While Kakeru was able to recover, Machi still suffered from the after-effects of it. Story Overview Fruits Basket Second Year Arc During Kakeru's second school year, Machi enrolls at the school. At some point, she is appointed as the treasurer of the student council by Makoto Takei, being deemed fit for that position. A short while after Yuki's been appointed as the student council president, Machi and Kakeru pass by him, and while Kakeru seems to take an interest in him, Machi seems to have some thoughts, though she cuts herself off.''Fruits Basket Manga'': Vol 7, Chapter 42 When Yuki first sees Machi, she has trashed the student council room and is surrounded by papers cluttered around the room. Yuki asks if she's okay, but Machi retreats and insists that she's fine. She tells him she'll clean up the mess and thereafter calls for her brother Kakeru who was also in the room. Kakeru then introduces both himself and Machi, exasperating her, before both of them goes home. Yuki thereafter tells Tohru Honda how he thinks that both of them weird people.''Fruits Basket Manga'': Vol 9, Chapter 49 After summer vacation, she meets Yuki and casually greets him.''Fruits Basket Manga'': Vol 12, Chapter 69 Later, during one of the student council meetings, Kakeru starts a discussion about what "colors" everyone would. Yuki asks Machi what her favorite color is and what color she would like to be, but Machi is unable to answer. Then, at Kakeru and Kimi Toudou's request, Yuki started to call her "Machi" instead of "Kuragi-san".''Fruits Basket Manga'': Vol 14, Chapter 73 When Yuki and his class go on a trip, he asks both Machi and Naohito Sakuragi what they'd want as a souvenir. Both of them are unfazed and reply with 'nothing'. Despite this, he brought Machi back a red maple-leaf.''Fruits Basket Manga'': Vol 14, Chapter 77 As the Yuki's class is preparing for their Sorta Cinderella play, the Prince Yuki Fan Club is fawning over Yuki and insist that he should play the prince. Machi accompanies Mio Yamagishi for school duties and they suddenly run into Yuki. Mio asks Machi if she agrees that Yuki would be a good prince, but Machi denies this and remarks that Yuki isn't prince-like at all. Despite her words, Machi later ends up breaking the student council door with a chair where Yuki was locked up in, because she felt like he might not like being alone and helpless. Yuki gives his thanks to her.''Fruits Basket Manga'': Vol 14, Chapter 83 Later, Machi is confronted by Yuki's fan club because of her previous remarks about Yuki. Machi ends up admitting that she thinks Yuki is air-headed, but most of all, that he's lonely. Before the girls are able to escalate the fight, they are interrupted. Yuki, who witnessed the entire scene, is in awe by Machi's words. It is later revealed that she kept the maple leaf she received from Yuki and turned it into a bookmark. When the student council members meet up outside of school, Yuki sees that she's treasuring his gift, though Machi denies that and tries to give it back. However, when Yuki acknowledges her when she previously felt like she was unneeded in the world, and when he finally feels like he understands her likes and dislikes (when Machi herself was unsure of this) she was secretly happy. Around this time, Machi develops feelings for Yuki, though she is angry whenever Kakeru teases her about it. Yuki, after hearing the truth about Machi's past and her reason for hating things that are too perfect, promised to walk in the snow with her the next time it snowed, a promise Machi was sure he'd keep. When Yuki silently breaks a piece of chalk and thus creates an imperfection in the room during their next student council meeting, Machi is surprised, but appreciates the gesture. Third Year Arc Over time, Yuki and Machi grows much closer; such as Machi running through the whole school to say hi to him and giving him a paper flower, visiting Ayame Sohma and Mine Kuramae's shop with Kakeru and Yuki,''Fruits Basket Manga'': Vol 19, Chapter 110 receiving a Mogeta figurine from Yuki, and discussing their preferred gifts they would like.''Fruits Basket Manga'': Vol 19, Chapter 112 When Tohru is in the hospital and Yuki needs to reach out to someone, Machi is able to confess to Yuki. They finally realized that they needed one another to be complete.''Fruits Basket Manga'': Vol 21, Chapter 125 As Yuki begins realizing his feelings towards Machi, he wanted to tell her about the Sohma Curse and his own history as the Rat. Despite the risks and the fact that he could only hope that she'd would accept him, he also expresses how he wants to be with her forever. At a later date, Yuki calls Machi and asks her to meet him at a certain spot.''Fruits Basket Manga'': Vol 22, Chapter 128 As Yuki was getting ready to tell Machi the truth, his curse breaks unexpectedly, so he instead embraces and confesses his feelings towards her. Machi asks him if she could call him by his first name, to which Yuki happily consented.''Fruits Basket Manga'': Vol 21, Chapter 131 They soon become a couple, and they visit Kakeru and his girlfriend Komaki Nakao together.''Fruits Basket Manga'': Vol 23, Chapter 134 Towards the end, Yuki gave Machi the key to the apartment he will be staying in while he attends college. Machi expresses that she will lonely once Yuki graduates and moves away to attend college, but she also tells him that she'll catch up to him. Yuki is happy by hearing this and replies that he'll wait for her.''Fruits Basket Manga'': Vol 23, Chapter 136 The Three Musketeers Arc Sometime before Yuki's graduation, Machi is shown hand in hand with Yuki while they are on a date. During their date, Yuki gets a phone call from Ayame, where he tells him to "lay down in his eternal slumber", comically distressing Machi.Fruits Basket: The Three Musketeers Arc: Chapter 3 Fruits Basket Another At some point, Machi married Yuki, having one son named Mutsuki Sohma between them. Mutsuki mentions that Machi and Yuki are very loving parents, and that they have a family tradition of waking up early whenever the snow would pile up, and then make trails of footprints in the snow. Thereafter, they would have breakfast together as a family. When Mutsuki entered middle school, Yuki told him about the Sohma family and its former Curse, as well as his own history as the Rat. Mutsuki then expressed how he was glad that he and Machi were his parents, that he is glad that he lives with them, and lastly that their home is the place he always wants to come home to, since it was always fun and warm. Upon hearing this, Yuki broke down in tears and Machi comforted him.Fruits Basket Another: Vol 2, Bonus Manga 2 This confirms that Machi was told about the curse too. Machi is also seen in a memory flashback as silhouettes with Yuki, Kyo, Tohru, and Hajime's unknown younger brother as Mutsuki played with Hajime when they were younger.Fruits Basket Another: Vol 1, Bonus Manga As stated by Mutsuki, he lived with his parents in town until he moved from home to attend the school they attended; Kaibara High. Mutsuki mentions that even though their home is very clean now (as opposed to both Yuki and Machi's messy rooms during their teenage years), they have a "secret" that no one knows about. Mutsuki is also very messy and proudly admits that he takes after his parents in that aspect.Fruits Basket Another: Vol 1, Chapter 2 Mutsuki also mentions that Machi has faced many hardships, even after so many years. He adds that her parents still tediously tells her off and that the problems surrounding her family matters will presumably not get better.Fruits Basket Another: Vol 3, Chapter 11 Trivia *Machi (with her face covered by her bangs) makes her first cameo appearance in the last two pages of Volume 7 (or Episode 25) along with Kakeru. She makes her official appearance in Volume 9 when she meets Yuki. *She is in the same class as Hatsuharu Sohma and Momiji Sohma. *Her favorite color appears to be red. Since Yuki's "color" in the student council is red, Kakeru teases Machi by saying that she likes red (as in, she likes Yuki). **Likewise, Machi's "color" is yellow as stated by Ayame. *She likes the fictional anime Mogeta, and treasures the two Mogeta figurines Yuki gifted her. **Her son, Mutsuki, also inherited a love for Mogeta. *She has a habit of lifting things up in the air, especially if she loves them. es:Machi Kuragi fr:Machi Kuragi Category:Characters Category:Fruits Basket Characters Category:Sohma Family Category:Fruits Basket: The Three Musketeers Arc Characters Category:Student Council Members Category:Female